Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, May 16: The Bombay High Court has rejected a man's plea challenging the jurisdiction of a Panvel court in hearing a domestic violence case filed by his wife, even though the couple currently resides in the United States.
The man had argued that since all alleged incidents of cruelty took place in the US, and both he and his wife work and live there, Indian courts particularly the one in Panvel have no jurisdiction over the matter. However, Justice Madhav Jamdar ruled that the argument does not hold ground.
In an order passed earlier this month, the HC noted that various incidents of alleged domestic violence occurred in India as well, including at Panvel which is the woman’s permanent address. "The argument that the alleged cruelty was not committed in India is not correct," Justice Jamdar observed, adding, “In fact, incidents which took place in the USA have also started due to conversations with relatives in India, including her parents, who reside at Panvel.”
The man had challenged two orders a March 2024 decision by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Panvel, and a prior order by the Additional Sessions Judge, Panvel-Raigad, in September 2023 — both of which upheld the jurisdiction of the local magistrate to hear the case.
His counsel, Prakash Naidu, insisted that since the couple’s residence is in the US, no part of the alleged domestic violence took place in India, and thus the case lacks merit. However, the wife’s lawyer, Vinay Nair, countered that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, under Section 27, allows for a broad interpretation of jurisdiction, including the woman’s permanent or even temporary place of residence.
The couple married in October 2018 in South India and moved to the United States, where they currently reside with their child, born in 2022. The wife had initially filed a domestic violence complaint in a Californian court, which she later withdrew, and filed a fresh case in Panvel in November 2023. The husband’s jurisdictional challenge came in March 2024.
The High Court, while affirming the jurisdiction of Indian courts in such matters, also emphasized that the judicial magistrate is empowered to take cognizance of domestic violence complaints at the complainant’s place of residence temporary or permanent. It further noted that the wife's complaint clearly disclosed multiple instances of harassment and cruelty.
The HC has thus paved the way for proceedings in the Panvel magistrate’s court to continue.